What We're Afraid Of
by Fleeting Illicit Delicious
Summary: Yuugi and Anzu are getting married and Jonouchi couldn't be happier, that is until he starts developing feelings for Anzu. And what is it that the both of them afraid of? Yuugi x Anzu and Jonouchi x Anzu
1. Best Friend

Disclaimer: Kazuki Takahashi owns Yugioh. I'm just using his characters for a while.

Pairings: Yuugi x Anzu, somewhat of Jonouchi x Anzu and past Jonouchi x Mai

A/N: This story takes place about 10 years after the series ends. If you haven't watched the whole series yet... go and do that.

Have you ever noticed that it is Jonouchi helping Anzu most of the time rather than the other way around? He is always real with her, even when she's scolding him. I wanted to write a story which brought both of their emotions into the foreground, even if they have changed with the passage of time.

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Ch.1 Best Friend

It was three in the afternoon. I was taking a nap. So it surprised me when the phone rang and I heard Yuugi's voice on the other end.

"Hello?"

"Sorry, Jonouchi-kun. You sound groggy. Did I wake you?" Yuugi still called everyone kun even though we were well into our twenties and far from boyish suffixes. Yuugi himself was taller these days and I wouldn't even have used the word kun with him, if I used those suffixes at all.

"No, don't worry about it. Why are you calling?" The last time he had called me was...I couldn't even remember when.

"Well..." Yuugi started. He seemed really excited, like it was his birthday or something. Was it? We hadn't spoken for so long.

"I just wanted to tell you that me and Anzu are getting married."

I fell out of bed. I mean, it really shouldn't have surprised me at all that him and Anzu were getting married, but for some reason my brain couldn't process the message or the feeling of more bed for me to roll on. So, I fell.

"Jonouchi-kun?" Yuugi was frantic after the moment of silence. "I'm sorry. I should have known this was a bad time for you. I'll call back later."

I grabbed the phone, which had fallen under the bed.

"No, Yuugi. Stop. Don't hang up."

"Okay, okay. Are you okay?" He said as I tried to recompose myself.

"Sure. So when's the wedding?"

He told me the dates, from the rehearsal 'til they got back from their honeymoon. I wrote everything down. I didn't want to miss my best friend's wedding. I was even going to be the best man.

"So how's your grandfather these days?" I said while writing.

We spoke for more than an hour about, well, everything. I had a lot of catching up to do if I was going to be his best man.

Just before I hung up, Yuugi asked me if I would like to go out for dinner at a fancy restaurant with him and Anzu. How could I refuse?

I dressed in my most formal (but not traditional) attire. I wanted to look my best for Yuugi after all.

When I got there, Yuugi greeted me.

"Hi Jonouchi-kun! Thank you for joining us."

I looked around. He had under-exagerated the restaurant. It was really, really fancy. It even had a dance floor. I took a seat at their table, where Yuugi's grandfather was also sitting and read the menu.

It was really, really expensive.

"Have whatever you like Jonouchi-kun." Yuugi said, taking a seat next to me, opposite of his grandfather. Anzu sat opposite of me.

"Yuugi, you can't seriously expect me to not pay for my own dinner."

"Shh Jonouchi-kun." He huddled in close to me. "Grandpa insisted that we eat here. I couldn't talk him out of it. He's paying for the whole thing."

"So order whatever you like Jonouchi!" Said Yuugi's grandpa cheerfully, apparently he had heard everything.

I looked around at the table. There were actually five seats.

"Whose the fifth seat for?" I questioned.

Everyone seemed embarrassed.

"Well, Jonouchi-kun. Anzu and I expected you to have a girlfriend." A girlfriend? I hadn't had one since- "But it's fine that you didn't come with one." Yuugi said, trying to be polite. "The whole point of you coming here is for us to catch up."

And so we did. We talked about all kinds of stuff. As new couples usually do though, Anzu and Yuugi would have their own conversations and ignore me, but that was fine. I was glad to see them happy.

Then Yuugi got up to dance with Anzu. It was really amazing watching them on the dance floor, because Yuugi was still a little shorter than Anzu. She was a great dancer though and it looked like she had taught a few things to Yuugi too. I guessed that the whole point of us coming here would have been to introduce each other to our girlfriends.

I was pretty much zoning out during the whole time about that. I felt almost hypocritical not having a girlfriend to introduce to Yuugi, although I was sure he was fine with me just the way I was.

After about five songs Yuugi came up to me with Anzu.

"Would you like to dance with her, Jonouchi-kun?" He offered me her hand.

"Sure I said. It would be an honor." Yuugi obviously had no qualms with a bachelor dancing with his future wife. I took her hand, making sure I didn't hold her as tight as Yuugi had.

Besides, Anzu looked kind of pretty in her dress. I led her to the dance floor, looking at her in the most platonic way possible. Her lips were had lip gloss on them. It was kind of pinkish and it looked better than lipstick would have looked on someone like her. She was smiling at me. I didn't look at her eyes, but they were probably smiling too.

But I wondered if I looked lonely to Yuugi.

I led Anzu to the dance floor and we started to dance. I knew she was a good dancer, what I didn't know was that she was a great dancer. I must have stepped on her feet so many times, but she kept on dancing. He body felt lithe under my touch. I hadn't been this close to a women in months and it hit me that I was kind of a lonely guy.

But nevermind that. I was starting to fall into Anzu's rhythm. I felt her hair brush up against my face sometimes. It felt really good. Yuugi was a very lucky guy.

Though that meant someone had to be unlucky and that someone was me.

"Jonouchi?" Anzu started. "The real way to hold a dancer is this way." She said, leading my hands to touch her waist. Darn it! I wasn't touching her there on purpose but she had to be such a proper dancer.

I only lightly touched her there, but then I gradually held her tighter as the rhythm of the song increased. I wondered if I was holding her too hard.

I only survived for about three songs before she slapped me.

"Just hold me Jonouchi, don't pinch my ass!" I was touching her there? Since when?

She started to move back into the rhythm like nothing had happened but I stopped her.

"Alright Anzu. I can't stop stepping on your shoes and I know they're expensive."

"Okay. We can stop now." She laughed. Her laughter sounded like it had come from another world. "But you're wrong. They're not expensive."

I led her back to our table. I was almost hesitant to let her go though. I hadn't held someone as soft as her for a long time.

But I let go of her anyway. "She's all yours Yuugi."

The rest of the dinner I spent talking to Yuugi's grandpa. I was young and he was old but we still talked together like dirty old men. Still, my thoughts weren't on the conversation I was having with him. I was too busy watching Yuugi and Anzu dance.

I really shouldn't have felt that way, but after the dinner I just couldn't stop thinking about her. I took a long shower (not hot or cold) because I couldn't get the thought of her out of my head. My imagination plays tricks on me sometimes. At times, I imagine things to be better than they really were. But her pressed up against me, the music playing in the background, it had all been so perfect, so surreal. I almost felt like taking dance courses.

I almost felt like dancing with her again, her hands in my mine as the music played.

I almost felt like just holding her.

Did I like Anzu?

No that wasn't possible. I hadn't had even the slightest attraction to her since I had known her. But I did look up her skirt one time...

I went to bed feeling sick with myself.

Every night I went to bed feeling so lonely. I missed curling up with someone beside me. I even missed they way my dad would turn the TV up so loud it was hard to focus on sleep. I was living a very solitary life at this moment in time. Maybe these feelings were just natural.

I focused on the shadows on the ceiling. They seemed to throb and grow with my own desire until they were enveloping me in total darkness. My own hell.

I didn't want to like my best friend's girlfriend, but I did.

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Culture Notes: Japanese use the suffixes -sama, -san, -kun, -chan (ect.) as honorifics. -Kun is an honorific to indicate a boy. Also, if anyone is concerned, I cannot (for the life of me) see Yuugi having a traditional Japanese wedding. So he's having a Western one, but I guess this detail isn't really important to the story.

I also must thank my beta reader for suggesting something vital to the story. Thank you so much.

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing as well.


	2. What We're Afraid Of

Disclaimer: Kazuki Takahashi owns Yugioh. I'm just using his characters for a while.

A/N: I thought I'd post the second chapter, since it's done already. The general mood of the story will be something like this.

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Ch. 2 What We're Afraid Of

I know it was a little presumptuous of me but I took Anzu out for coffee. I had to sort out my feelings for her. Yuugi didn't seem to mind. I even called him to make sure it was okay. He assured me it was, he even said that Anzu and I should try to rekindle our friendship.

She was waiting for me at the coffee shop when I arrived. She was smiling and wearing a black turtleneck and red skirt, and though she didn't look that young anymore, it brought me back to the time of Duelist Kingdom for a moment. Had she picked that outfit out on purpose?

"Good morning" She greeted me. As I imagined, she was her usual perky self.

I regretted that even when we were in high school, I had never learned much about her. Now, hopefully this was my chance to get to know her and quell my feelings for her.

We sat at a small table and ordered coffee. The average person could have imagined that Anzu and I were going out, or happily married. How wrong that person would be.

"So how is your life going?" I asked her after a few sips of coffee.

Her smile seemed to disappear.

I got that feeling that some people get when they hear about an approaching typhoon.

"To tell you the truth Jonouchi, I'm afraid." She whispered. I had to lean in to hear her. I thought I had heard her wrong, but her eyes told me everything.

"To marry Yuugi?" I asked, startled. What had happened between them?

She seemed surprised that I caught on so fast. "Yes." she said lowering her head, her eyelashes hiding her eyes, "I think I may have to call the marriage off."

Never had I seen Anzu like this before. I couldn't believe she was saying this. And to me- she was saying this to me.

"You mean, you're seeing another man. Or is this something else? Do you still love Atemu?" Now that I knew it, I used his real name. Anzu looked shocked to hear his name, at least.

But she only shook her head.

"No, it's not him. It hasn't been him for a long time." She faked her smile.

I could tell Anzu was sad, depressed even. If she didn't want to get married, she could always wait. I wanted to tell her just that but she opened her mouth before me and I just had to know the rest of this.

"Jonouchi, remember how I wanted to be a dancer?" She said. Then she laughed like she had just told a joke that wasn't funny, but there was no happiness on her face.

It was like she was trying to hide something that was obviously there.

I nodded regardless.

"I never got to be one. My father went into debt and I used the money I had saved to pay for it. I never imagined I'd give away something I had worked so hard on, but just like that it was gone."

I knew she had never went to New York after high school but I hadn't known that was the reason why. How sad... I could relate to her. Never in my life would I have thought that Anzu would go through a situation almost identical to my own.

She continued. "I attended the community college. Then I worked as secretary for a small law office. I've been there the whole time. I've never left."

So she had never left the town at all. All this time we could have learned more about each other. All this time she was just around the corner or across the street. Where had that time went?

"I'm sorry Anzu." I touched her arm to comfort her, "You deserved to have your dreams come true." I wanted to say more but I couldn't. There wasn't anything I could think of.

"Please don't tell Yuugi." She whispered, even softer this time.

"But he should know-"

"Please don't tell him." I couldn't help but agree. If Anzu trusted me this much to tell me, I couldn't go blabbing my mouth around.

We just sat there in silence looking at each other.

I just couldn't figure it out. She had been so happy at dinner the other night, or had she? I couldn't even remember if she was. Was I too focused on her body to concentrate on her face? A long time ago I was that sort of guy, but not anymore.

She excused herself soon after and left me there, lost in her story. When I looked at her side of the table I noticed her coffee cup was still full.

I could tell that Anzu's sadness wasn't directed at Yuugi. Instead, she lashed out at herself. I wondered if she asked herself at night if her dreams were ever going to come true. But at the same time I told myself, this is Anzu! She always has a firm grasp on her dreams. She was class president while busing tables. But maybe since high school, that Anzu had changed.

Where had that time went? I asked myself over and over again as I sat there.

On the bus home I wondered about my own goals. I don't think I even accomplished half of what I had set out to do

I looked out of the window to calm myself and noticed a butterfly flying on the road. I was kind of out of it, so I of watched it for a few split seconds. I don't look at butterflies very often, but this one was kind of beautiful. It danced with the traffic, being blown wherever the wind would take it. Huge gusts would take it dangerously close to oncoming cars, but still it continued to fly, as if it were trying to find a way out of the madness. I didn't want it to get hit, even though I knew I couldn't stop the bus.

When I got home I went straight for the couch and laid down. I had a headache from something. It's funny how headaches hardly ever appear when you're doing something fun, but when you're doing the same old stuff day in and day out they always come and they always hit hard.

I laid on the couch for a good twenty minutes but my headache didn't go away. But just laying there, doing nothing, got me thinking. It got me thinking about Mai.

She moved in with me and we got engaged when I was 23. We had been together ever since she had come back from where ever the hell she had been. Out of the blue she just decided to move her stuff to my place. And then, just as quickly and without warning, she moved out and the marriage was off. It wasn't anything I had done, I knew she liked me and was satisfied with me. The real reason was because she hated being tied down. She had her own road to travel before settling down with me and I couldn't hold that against her.

It was late at night at the time. We were in this very apartment, sitting on this couch and we had just finished watching a movie. I couldn't even remember the movie we had been watching but the blueish light from the TV screen bounced off the shirt she was wearing making her seem melancholy. Or that was just my impression of her.

"You know Jonouchi, sometimes I just get this feeling that I have to leave." She had told me one night. "It's not you or anything about you. It's just when I get the feeling that... that I just got a new car and I'm driving it off the lot and all of a sudden there's this red light and I can't do anything but stay still. I just sit still and then my mind starts going blank. I need to feel the wind against my face to help me think, I can't just sit still forever. It feels kind of like that."

Despite being dumped at the time, I listened to her every word. Mai had probably never shared her feelings like this before and it was a good feeling to have her talking to me like that.

She didn't have nearly as much make up on as she usually did. It was like I was looking at her true face.

"Do you know what I'm saying to you?" She asked. I said the first thing that came to me.

"I'll be here when you get back" I said. Sometimes the best things I said came without thinking at all.

"You didn't need to tell me that" Her tone wasn't unfriendly and she smiled at me when she said it. A true smile. I knew I had said the right thing.

A few days after that she left. I decided it was best not to rack my mind about her, or how I could have made her stay. It shocked me that I had let her go so easily, but then, it was Mai. I knew she had her own life.

I had a few relationships with other girls after that but it was never anything serious. They seemed to come and go as the seasons changed and then one season I ended up with no girl at my side at all. It had stayed like that until now.

It felt unnatural to hope that Mai would come back because I didn't need to hope. I had a feeling she would come to stay one day.

Of course that day hadn't come yet.

I had a dream that night. Anzu was in it. But of course, who else? She was in a classroom dressed in her old school uniform, but her face was still that of the way she was now. She was looking out the window. I came up to her and snaked my arms around her waist.

"So how are you Anzu? You didn't drink any of your coffee and still left me with the bill. That was wasteful of you." I guess I thought of money even in my dreams.

As for Anzu though, her look was strange. She was staring out the window but her gaze seemed out of focus.

She shivered in my arms. "I'm afraid of it Jonouchi."

I looked in her direction but saw nothing. It looked like there was a concrete wall in front of the window or a gray, gray fog. Whatever it was it gave me a feeling of hopelessness- like there was no way to look past it or get around it. It felt like reaching a dead end in a maze.

"It makes me so cold Jonouchi." She said, turning around so I could hold her even tighter, which I did.

"Don't worry Anzu, I've got you." I heard my voice. It sounded like some dirty pervert.

"We both see it I think." She ignored the comment. "The thing that makes me afraid. It's going to take us if we're not careful. I'm not very careful and neither are you."

"What are you saying?" I was so confused.

"Nevermind." She said, walking out of my embrace. "I need to find Yuugi now." She walked straight to the door.

She was about to leave when she spoke to me again. "You should turn the lights on, you'll see it better."

Of course, I didn't know what she was talking about. In this dream, the lights were already on.

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A/N: (Skip it if you want to) What I really love about Anzu is she's responsible for the sadder and softer moments in the series. The trials she goes through are the ones that are happening in the present because we never really see her past. And if you wanted my honest opinion, I'm totally neutral when it comes to Anzu. I'm just one of those people who sits back and watches the fireworks if you know what I mean. 

And now I've talked too much. Thank you for reading and thank you for reviewing.


	3. Butterfly

Disclaimer: Yugioh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. I'm just using his characters for a while.

A/N: This is the last chapter, so thank you for reading and reviewing (and waiting so long) for it. I really enjoyed writing this because it let me express all the ideas that I was having at the moment.

(A funny story of why I didn't update this sooner is that I forgot it finals week last week...and well...we all know what that means. But thank goodness they're over and I can get back to creativity again.)

Also, as a bit of a warning, there's some content in here that makes this a T fic.

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Chapter 3 Butterfly

The next day I went to Yuugi's house, only Yuugi wasn't there. Instead I found Anzu tidying up around the shop with grandpa.

We started our idle chatter, Anzu saying she didn't have to work today and I saying I had nothing better to do. When costumers came in, we moved upstairs to talk some more.

Yuugi's house was the same way I remembered it. Which is to say it was oddly spotless. Or maybe his mother just loved to clean a lot.

"What is it you wanted to talk about up here?" I said to Anzu.

"What happened to you and Mai?" She jumped into her sadness, just like that.

"Well I guess she kinda just left me." I said casually, like how someone would tell a short funny story to a friend. Only the story wasn't funny. But I felt I had to lighten the mood a little bit.

"She just left you?" Anzu's eyes were serious.

"Well, no. She told me she was leaving and I let her go, or she let herself go." I said, getting mixed up on my words. I hadn't told anyone this story before actually. "No, that came out wrong. I don't think she got fat."

"I'm sorry she left." Anzu's expression was like a cloudy day with no hope of sun.

"Don't be. Mai wanted to-"

"I'm so selfish." Anzu added. That surprised me. Where was she coming up with this negative outlook on herself?

"What do you mean?"

"How can I think about myself all the time? It's so selfish of me and unfair to Yuugi." She was talking about the conversation we had over coffee.

"I think Yuugi would understand if you wanted to take your time."

She concentrated on this for a bit. Damn! Had I said the wrong thing. I didn't want to destroy Yuugi's marriage, and who knew if Anzu would run away like Mai had. I could tell I was being a really bad influence on her and it didn't help I had a crush on her either.

"Or maybe you're just going through one of those things that brides always go through." But I had lost her. Her face was deep in resignation and there was nothing I could do to pull her out of the deep well my talking had dug for her.

I shut my mouth and just stared at her. Maybe it would be better if she said something to me. Getting things off her chest could be the best thing for her.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, she said something. She didn't look at me when she said it. It was like she was lost in herself as she tried to fill up the void of silence with meaningless words.

"Do you like anyone now?" Or not so meaningless words.

"Why ask that all of a sudden?" Or rather, why ask that to me all of a sudden.

"You're right, it isn't my business to know."

I couldn't get her out of my mind. Even when Yuugi came home and invited me for dinner I would try to be extra nice to her. Of course, she didn't seem to show those hopeless emotions around Yuugi. It was like I was holding her secrets for her, so she could live her life without them.

Around Yuugi she was always happy, a beautiful and lovely fiancée. I tried to erase the images of her being sad over coffee, but it was hard to think of them at all when she was with Yuugi. It was hard to tell who she really was.

* * *

It was close to noon when I woke up the next day. I have a very louzy schedule that has me working the graveyard shift at the convience store around the corner. But I guess I'd rather have that job than some 19 year old girl have it and deal with the drunks and weirdos that come in at who the hell knows what hour of the night. Besides, I only work weekends anyway.

I went to buy food for my bachelor pad. I never expected to find the object of my affection when I was returning home.

We met on the train by some miraculous turn of fate, or whatever my dumb luck was called.

"Good afternoon Jonouchi." She said to me. She was in her same turtle neck from the coffee shop, only with a different skirt. This time she didn't try to fake her happiness. The sadness in her voice was both fragile and tangible.

"Hello Anzu. How are you and Yuugi?" I asked her.

"Fine." She answered and that was the end of our conversation about her and Yuugi. At least, I didn't want to intrude anymore.

The afternoon sun was coming through the windows and making the whole train glow a pretty golden color. Anzu looked so pretty in the afternoon light. I just stared at her for a while, taking it in.

"You know, Jonouchi, I've never seen your house." She said when I was unconciously staring at her.

That should have scared me. I should have just said, 'maybe next time when Yuugi's around I'll show you', but I didn't. She looked so sad now. I couldn't say no.

Together we walked to my apartment from the train station. It wasn't a long walk and it wasn't very scenic either. I was waiting for someone to notice us and tell Yuugi everything, but then I knew that Yuugi would just brush it off as best friend-girlfriend bonding, if there was such a thing.

I showed her my apartment, everything from the silly little plant I was growing to the laundry in my bathroom. Soon enough, we found our way to the bedroom. Even though the sun was blaring outside, the room was darker than I imagined.

She laid herself on my bed, her turtle neck sweater looking too hot for her. I imagined her sweaty body underneath those clothes.

She wasn't lying in a sexual way. Maybe a tired way, now that I thought about it. Tired from emotion and feelings, not physical tiredness. But I, of course, had other things in mind as I looked at her.

I felt a something in my gut wince as I looked her up and down. We couldn't do this. Something had to stop me.

"Do you know what it's like to have no dreams, Jonouchi?" She asked, interrupting my thoughts. Her voice was so fragile.

I didn't know what to say. But that didn't matter.

"It feels like drowning." She whispered it. She curled up on my bed so I could see up her skirt.

I nodded. I knew what drowning felt like. Just going down into blackness without anyone or anything to help you, blackness everywhere. But the worst part was feeling my body. It felt like it was going cold, going empty.

I should have related my situation to her, told her I did know, and told her that I was there to help her. But I was too focused on her black underwear. Damn me!

"Just awful" she said burying her face into the comforter, allowing me a better view of her curves.

I know I really shouldn't have but I touched her. Just her hair, her face, her legs. No! This wasn't happening. I wasn't doing this.

"Jonouchi" she whispered. The sweat on her body felt like a thin film of something I couldn't describe. She must have felt uncomfortable with my hands on her, but she didn't resist, didn't even flinch. I caressed her legs, feeling their warmth. They were just lying there waiting for me, like an invitation to my best friend's wedding.

"When I marry Yuugi, I'll live here still. Yuugi wants to run his grandfather's shop one day. When that day comes he wants me to be there with him. I think that would make me happy" She smiled weakly, thinking of Yuugi. Almost immediately after that, her smile vanished. She spoke in a somber tone, "But I can't get over this feeling that I'm drowning, that it's all some terrible dream and I'll wake up one day and be in high school again. Have my dreams back again."

I was touching her, rubbing her legs in way I knew I shouldn't have. Her sadness was heavy, but my lust must have been heavier. I lied down with her and took her in my arms. I pressed her up against my chest so I could feel her breasts against mine and ran a hand down her back, feeling the curves of her body. Perfect curves.

"So don't marry Yuugi. Go to New York and become a dancer." I whispered, too heavy in euphoria to know exactly what I was saying. "Be a high school girl even. You're the perfect girl. I bet you can be anything."

I was reaching up her skirt now and she still wasn't resisting. I could have her if I wanted to, right here on my bed and nobody would have to know about my sad girl.

My sad girl in the coffee shop, the one I hadn't noticed until now. I could feel her in the ways I wanted to. I might even make her a little happier.

I was so close to the lining but-

But I guess fate just loves me like that.

Her phone rang.

"Hello?" She answered, getting off the bed to reach her purse.

"Yuugi?" Her eyes lit up. It was as if she hadn't been sad at all. I just lay there, watching her animated conversation with my best friend.

It could have been yesterday when Yuugi and I were close to each other, sharing each other's dreams and each other's burdens. But now, I felt farther away from him than I ever had. Maybe because now we were sharing the same girl.

She hung up after what seemed to be forever. What ever I had felt earlier had dissapated into nearly nothing.

"You'll have to excuse me Jonouchi." She said with a smile. "Yuugi's invited me to dinner. Isn't he sweet? I have to go get ready now." She picked up her bag and straightened herself.

"I'll see you later." She said.

And then she was gone. I took my usual three o clock nap. When I woke up it was like she had never been there at all.

* * *

Yuugi invited me to his bachelor party. Okay, he didn't really, I kind of threw it for him. Just a drink out. I would have called more people to come, but I wanted to pay the bill on my own. Of course I don't drink much anyway.

"You know Yuugi, you're a lucky guy." I started talking when we were into our second drink.

"Why's that." He asked it like he was totally interested in what I was saying, and he probably was.

"You have Anzu, that's why. When I first met you, I thought you would have no luck with chicks at all. But now look! You're getting married and I don't even have a girlfriend." This kind of talk between old friends felt good. It would have back brought good memories if it weren't for the sinking feeling in my gut.

"I bet you'll find a good girlfriend soon too." His words were encouraging, but I was a world away from Yuugi's pity by now.

"Nah, nevermind about me Yuugi. This time it's about you and Anzu. You're going to have to be there for her." And then I burst into tears. It must have been the alchohol.

"Jonouchi-kun?" Yuugi was worried. "Why are you crying?"

"Yuugi," I said wiping my eyes dramatically, "I've finally taught you how to be a man."

We both started laughing, and it probably wasn't from the alchohol, or at least not that much of it was.

When we calmed down we started talking about other things. I didn't want to talk to him about Anzu. Maybe he would never have to know.

We talked about a lot of other things but my mind was roaming somewhere else.

Time is a funny thing sometimes. It changes some people past recognition and then doesn't change some people at all. I imagine it's random like that, like rolling dice. You never know who's going to change and who's not. One day, someone lifts the cup up (someone like Otogi) and you see which dice have changed and which have stayed the same. People's personalitites, people's lives are in those dice and they all get mixed around on the floor or in some plastic cup. Some even get lost.

"Jonouchi-kun?" He said when I stopped talking my head off. It was getting late. The whole bar felt kind of desolate by now. The time had just been drained while we were sitting still.

"What is it Yuugi?"

"About Anzu," Oh shit. He knew. I bet he knew everything. I don't care how he found out but- "I feel that there are some things that I can't help her with."

"Why's that?" I tried to keep my cool.

"I don't know. It's just this feeling I have." He was pensive now. He stared into the arrangement of bottles that bars always have. Then his eyes lit up. "If there's ever a problem, I can I trust you to help me with it, with us, can't I?"

I nodded.

So my best friend and my crush were getting married, it seemed to hit me just then. It was like watching some beautiful play. I was never supposed to be a part of it at all, only I was. I had a very big part. I would decide the final act of the play.

"Well..." Yuugi said again. "I guess I have a wedding to get ready for."

I walked Yuugi to the train station and then I turned around to go home.

It's weird how things work out sometimes. One day I'm sitting on a couch, listening to my girlfriend dump me and then another day I'm having coffee with my best friend's girlfriend. It should have perfectly understandable in my head how those things worked out, but to me the gears weren't clicking.

* * *

When I got home, Anzu was waiting for me. I invited her in almost immediately. Nevermind why she was there. What was important was that I redeem myself. Not just through her eyes, but through my own.

"Look Anzu, about the other day, I'm sorry." I looked her square in the eyes to tell her that I was serious. The alchohol had worn off already, maybe by sheer power of will. I didn't even bother to turn the lights on when I entered.

"It's okay Jonouchi, I know how you feel." She smiled like she was giving some kind of fake apology.

"You do?" I said as she took a step towards me.

"Of course." She sighed, pressing herself against me. She started lifting up her shirt and showed me her bra.

Why was she doing this? She didn't seem to have an attraction to me at all, and yet here she was, exposing herself to me.

The curves on her body looked really nice, shaped perfectly. Her face on the other hand, it was a perfect sadness.

Then it hit me. She was using me to get out of her marriage. It seemed like a farfetched idea, but whatever it was I wouldn't let my emotions get in the way. I wouldn't let myself get in the way of the two of them. I pulled her shirt back down for her.

"Anzu, listen. We can't do this." I consoled her. I wrapped my arms around her tight to make her feel that I was there for her. Not for her body, not because of Yuugi, I was there for her.

I felt wet drops hit my shirt and realized she was crying. I didn't know exactly why she was crying. Maybe it was because she had never achieved her dreams, or that she was betraying Yuugi or even that she actually felt like she was drowning. Or it could have been everything, I didn't know.

I looked around the room like people sometimes do when they don't know the answer to a question. It felt alien to me. There were corners with a darkness that could suck you in if you weren't too careful. For the first time, I felt lonely in my own apartment. The whole atmosphere threatened to take the two of us and drown us into darkness. I wasn't going to let that happen though.

I held her. I wanted to tell her I was waiting for Mai. I wanted to tell her I wasn't interested in having sex with her. I wanted to tell her all we'd ever be was friends. Good friends.

Our relationship could never evolve. It would be like having a Baby Dragon in your deck without Time Wizard, like Yuugi without Atemu . Alright, that was a bad example.

"You need to stop having all these emotional wrecks when I'm around." I whispered into her hair. "People are going to start talking."

It didn't cheer her up. Her face was a mess of tears, but somehow that mess was beautiful. I tried something else.

"Do you want to know something I noticed the other day?" I asked her.

"What's that?" She asked looking up at me. Her voice was so sad. It was almost heartbreaking.

I took a moment to gather my thoughts.

"The other day I saw a butterfly. It was flying on the road, it was so beautiful, you should have seen it."

She smiled sadly. Her breathing was heavy against my chest. I paused to take in the entire moment. This sad Anzu, I didn't know this person at all until now. How much would I never know about her?

I knew one thing though. I knew that I would never be this close to her after this moment and I had to make sure of that. I couldn't let my feelings get in the way of her and Yuugi. I would do anything for Yuugi. And anything for her.

She didn't mind my pause. She waited patiently until I started up again. It was if she was imagining the butterfly on the road.

"Anyway, I didn't want it to get hit. Every car was going so fast and that butterfly was just flying on the road, probably getting blown this way and that by the traffic. I felt bad for it. I felt bad that I was on one of the buses that would probably blow it in a new direction, and I couldn't tell if that direction would kill it or set it free."

I let the words sink in. I could see her sad face, imagining me and the butterfly. I was probably making her feel worse, she probably hated me. Her sad eyes were like Shizuka's when she heard our parents were splitting up.

The memory of that brought back all kinds of new emotions. It was hard for me to speak again. I felt like crying with her.

"What happened to the butterfly?" She asked. Her voice was muffled.

I said the first thing that popped into my head.

"Probably found another butterfly."

She looked up at me to see if I was teasing her. It was like old times again almost. I wanted to reassure her though. I wanted her to know I was genuine.

"Butterflies dance in imperfect, unpredictable patterns." I started. "Remember when you worked at that restaurant. I hadn't really known you up until then and you were really rude to us. I thought 'Are these Anzu's true colors? She must be a really terrible person underneath. Why does Yuugi hang out with such a mean girl. He's too nice to be with her.'"

She was looking up at me confused now.

"Then I got to know you." I started up again. "Yuugi's lucky to have someone like you. Even when he ignored you for other people you were still there for him."

She nodded weakly, probably remembering all those times when I or someone else was the center of Yuugi's attention instead of her. It was sad, because none of those people deserved it as much as she did. I didn't even deserve it as much as she did. But that would change soon.

"Well, now it's your time to have Yuugi's attention. You're gonna complete each other unlike me, or any of the other guys or even Atemu ever could. You two are gonna be beautiful together. I can just tell. Don't turn back when you've got everything right in front of you." I took a breath. This was taking everything out of me. I noticed that I was crying too now. But Anzu, she was still listening so I had to finish.

"I don't know what happened to that butterfly on the road and I guess I never will." I told her. "But I figure if I help you out it would be like helping that butterfly out. I can set you free and be there for you when you fall, but not as much as Yuugi can every moment of your life. You don't have to be sad anymore."

I could feel her heartbeat. It was lovely, fluttering just like a butterfly.

"Try your best not to get hit by the car, Anzu, you're almost there."

She nodded. Her eyes were sparkling.

We didn't say anything for a long time after that. I just grabbed her tighter to reassure her that I was there, but this time I didn't think I needed to.

We stayed in that pose for what seemed like an eternity. My shirt was very wet from Anzu's tears, but I didn't let that bother me. She continued to breath against me and it was impossible to tell what she was thinking. Maybe she was asleep.

It was impossible to tell the time but she released herself from my grasp. She slowly walked around the room, focusing on nothing in particula. It was like she was re-assimilating herself to the world around her. Then she faced me again.

"I want to thank you for being a friend to me Jonouchi." Her face was the most pleasant I had ever seen it, she was finally at peace now.

"Well, even you know that's something friends do." I tried to talk casually to her, but my voice cracked a little. I felt like I had just come out of a deep sleep.

"I've made my decision now." She smiled. I reminded me of the smiles Shizuka used to give me when we were children. But more than that, her voice was confident now. "I don't know how I'll ever repay you."

"You don't have to do anything for me. Like I said, that's what friends are for. I'm just really glad for you, that's all."

"I'll think of something." She said.

And with that she left my apartment for the last time.

* * *

On their wedding day, Anzu looked very beautiful in her dress. She looked very happy too. To me, it was like she was a dancer who had fallen and was lifted back on her feet again. But to everyone else, she was Anzu, happiest girl in the world at the moment.

It wasn't a very classy wedding, in fact it was more like a get together with friends. I, being the self proclaimed loud mouth that I was, chitchatted away with all my old friends.

"Jonouchi-kun" Yuugi said, coming up to me, "There was one other guest who just came..."

"Really, who is it?" I scanned the room but didn't see anyone who fit that description.

"She won't come in. She's outside. She says she wants to see you."

No it couldn't be. I rushed outside to see the new guest.

"So they got married huh?" She said to me.

"Yeah, they sure did."

"Figures, I always knew they would. So how have you been?"

"Okay I guess."

"Did you meet any girls you liked?"

"No one that I already knew." I was being entirely honest.

She nodded. Her face was some undescribable expression. It was almost unreal speaking to her again after so long.

"Well, if that's all there is to know I guess I shouldn't intrude any longer." She said, turning to go.

Was I just going to let her walk out on me again? Or was I going to try to make things work for good again.

"Hey Mai." I called back to her. "Would you like to hear a story about a butterfly?"

She turned around and nodded.

"I'd like that Jonouchi." She smiled at me. It was the smile I had been waiting for.

The End

* * *

A/N: I'm just a sap for cute endings, aren't I?

It makes me happy that this story didn't end up as a tragedy, because tragedies are sometimes just like dead ends. I feel that ending this story with hope makes it feel like it could continue, even if I don't write it anymore.

I also wanted the characters, Yuugi and Anzu, Jonouchi and Mai to settle things in the end. I'm happiest with the scene in the bar because Jonouchi always told Yuugi to be a man.

Well thank you for reading.


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